A+E Interactive » Tony Hawk Ridehttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei
Bay Area Arts and Entertainment BlogFri, 13 Feb 2015 21:27:43 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1A second look at Tony Hawk Ridehttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/11/16/previewing-tony-hawk-ride-for-a-second-time/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/11/16/previewing-tony-hawk-ride-for-a-second-time/#commentsMon, 16 Nov 2009 17:00:08 +0000Gieson Cachohttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=17233I had a second chance to play Tony Hawk Ride this weekend. Activision and the legendary skater himself were holding a press event at the Metreon in San Francisco and it included members from the local Boys & Girls Club… Continue Reading →]]>
I had a second chance to play Tony Hawk Ride this weekend. Activision and the legendary skater himself were holding a press event at the Metreon in San Francisco and it included members from the local Boys & Girls Club . It was an interesting mix: Hardened members of the gaming press and bright-eyed children were all in the same room vying for spots to play the same game.
Almost six months after my first time with Tony Hawk Ride at at E3, I felt more hopeful about the final build going on sale Nov. 17. I had some concern about the learning curve, but for some reason, it seemed easier for me to nail ollies and flip tricks at the event. It seems as though the developers tweaked the game a little so that it's just right for the casual fans who don't have the road rash and broken bones of real skaters.
Most of the important stuff is in the video above, but here are some things you may not have known:
The levels are designed to be three to four minutes. It's gaming in spurts so that you don't have to be spending hours on the faux skateboard.
The sound tracks features 50 different songs and there will be dynamic advertising in the game.
Lastly, though I usually lean toward the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions of multiconsole games, I found that the Wii edition to be fairly solid even though it's made by Buzz Monkey Softare instead of Robomodo, the main team behind the Tony Hawk Ride. Graphically, it didn't quite match up on the other systems, but gameplay-wise, I found it as responsive as its siblings. And yes, the Wii and PS3 versions will include a dongle.]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/11/16/previewing-tony-hawk-ride-for-a-second-time/feed/9Roundup: Uncharted 2 on big screen, David Bowie in Lego Rock Band, DJ Hero and Tony set listhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/10/06/roundup-uncharted-2-on-big-screen-david-bowie-in-lego-rock-band-dj-hero-and-tony-set-list/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/10/06/roundup-uncharted-2-on-big-screen-david-bowie-in-lego-rock-band-dj-hero-and-tony-set-list/#commentsWed, 07 Oct 2009 02:29:55 +0000Gieson Cachohttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=16737

There’s no rest for the weary. Coming off vacation, I wasn’t off the plane for two hours before I had to go to two events. The first was an Uncharted 2: Among Thieves tournament held at the Landmark Embarcadero theater… Continue Reading →

Over the past few years, the Tony Hawk franchise has grown a bit stale in terms of gameplay. Whereas rivals have gone with a fresher control scheme, the popular skateboarding game kept to its standard formula, tweaking it here and… Continue Reading →

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Over the past few years, the Tony Hawk franchise has grown a bit stale in terms of gameplay. Whereas rivals have gone with a fresher control scheme, the popular skateboarding game kept to its standard formula, tweaking it here and there.
Tony Hawk needed a reboot, and it's getting a huge one this fall courtesy ofTony Hawk Ride. The latest edition in the long-running series features a different approach and also a new way of playing with the introduction of a skateboard peripheral.
You heard that right. Tony Hawk Ride features a skateboard controller that sports 2 accelorometers, 4 infrared sensors and the common buttons you'd expect. All that fits into a package that's about as heavy as Xbox 360 and supports those weighing up to 300 pounds.
As for Tony Hawk Ride, the game features 3 modes of difficulty that hopefully will let everyone play. It goes from casual, which has an almost rail-shooter like guide as players just concentrate on board tricks. The confident level works almost like a tractor beam: Players roll to spots where they do tricks and the game automatically draws them there. The highest difficulty level takes you off all the rails (It's like taking the driver assist off a hard racing game.) and lets you go at it.
Along with the three difficulties, there will be three modes of play. One is the classic trick mode where the faux skateboard faces the screen normally. There's a challenge mode. Lastly, there's a speed mode where players have to get from Point A to Point B in the fastest time possible.
When you're actually on the board, leaning back and forth controls your movement. If you lean back a specific distance and hold the board in a specific position, you'll pull off a manual. Lean back quickly and with the right timing and you'll be able to ollie a gap. Leaning left and right during those jumps lets you perform board tricks in the air. The accelerometers track everything and interprets those motion into skateboarding tricks.
On the vert, it's a little different. You'll have to place the skateboard parallel to the screen. The same rules apply, but this time the focus on board tricks. Leaning left and right lets you spin one way or another. Putting your hand over the infrared sensors lets you perform a grab. You can even do hand plants if you put your hand in front of the board (something I can never do).
Yale Miller, an associate producer at Activision, says despite the new controls, Tony Hawk Ride will try to keep the open-world feel of the previous ones. Players will be traveling to Venice (in Southern California), Chicago, Frankfurt and Tokyo.
The biggest concern I had after playing Tony Hawk Ride is the learning curve. Doing tricks is no longer a one-button push. It's an immersive experience where you have to mimic the actual moves. I imagine the game will be no problem for skateboarding fans, but for the casual gamer looking to get into the genre, it could present an opportunity and a challenge.
The hard part will be to actually get used to the controls. There will be a lot of falling down. There will be a lot of sweat spilled. (Faux skateboarding like real skateboarding is a workout. There could be some fitness opportunity there.) But the game does let you feel more like a skateboarder and learn the sport without those scrapes or bruises.]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/06/09/e3-tony-hawk-ride-will-be-hard-to-master/feed/6IMG_5570